Day 19 quail eggs. STILL NOT HATCHED!!

[Majak5]

This is my second time hatching quail and I’m using a homemade incubator but on my first hatch the temp and humidity where all over the place, now I’m able to keep the temp and humidity quite close to where they need to be now for my second hatch. My last hatch took 19 days ( hatched at 9am on 19th morning). It’s day 19 now and it’s 9:30 and I have seen no movement or anything. I’m just really worried, I only have 6 eggs left out of 13.

 

[JaeG]

Quail can take longer so don't panic. You can candle them to see if they've pipped internally but try not to turn the egg - keep it in the position it's lying in so you don't confuse the chick and make them move into the wrong position for hatching. If they have internally pipped you'll see a little shadow in the air cell. You might hear them tapping if you hold the fat end of the egg to your ear. A dead embryo will sink towards the narrow end of the of the egg and there will be a yellowish, watery layer between it and the air cell. But I wouldn't worry until you've got to day 21 and still have no pipping. It's torture, I know!

 

[Majak5]

Ye

Quail can take longer so don't panic. You can candle them to see if they've pipped internally but try not to turn the egg - keep it in the position it's lying in so you don't confuse the chick and make them move into the wrong position for hatching. If they have internally pipped you'll see a little shadow in the air cell. You might hear them tapping if you hold the fat end of the egg to your ear. A dead embryo will sink towards the narrow end of the of the egg and there will be a yellowish, watery layer between it and the air cell. But I wouldn't worry until you've got to day 21 and still have no pipping. It's torture, I know!

ah I candles them and they all seem alive but no internal pips yet

 

[Majak5]

Quail can take longer so don't panic. You can candle them to see if they've pipped internally but try not to turn the egg - keep it in the position it's lying in so you don't confuse the chick and make them move into the wrong position for hatching. If they have internally pipped you'll see a little shadow in the air cell. You might hear them tapping if you hold the fat end of the egg to your ear. A dead embryo will sink towards the narrow end of the of the egg and there will be a yellowish, watery layer between it and the air cell. But I wouldn't worry until you've got to day 21 and still have no pipping. It's torture, I know!

My humidity is also acting up at the moment, i put more water in and it gets up to 70 but an hour later it is back down under 50. I’m scared that they won’t be able to hatch out coz of the low humidity

 

[JaeG]

It's the surface area of water that counts so as many damp surfaces as possible is what you need. Have you got a sponge you could wet and put in the incubator somewhere, ideally sitting in a little water so it's constantly sucking up fresh water and releasing it into the air? Or a cloth or even a good wad of paper towels? If the air inside your home is very dry that does affect the incubator too. You could even put wet paper towels around the outside of your eggs if that would work in your set up. Hopefully that will get the humidity up there.

I do hope they hatch for you - they are adorable babies.

 

[Majak5]

It's the surface area of water that counts so as many damp surfaces as possible is what you need. Have you got a sponge you could wet and put in the incubator somewhere, ideally sitting in a little water so it's constantly sucking up fresh water and releasing it into the air? Or a cloth or even a good wad of paper towels? If the air inside your home is very dry that does affect the incubator too. You could even put wet paper towels around the outside of your eggs if that would work in your set up. Hopefully that will get the humidity up there.

I do hope they hatch for you - they are adorable babies.

Thank you, I will try that, I’m just charged that the humidity will go too high or too low during the night, what could happen if it’s too high?

 

[JaeG]

If your air cells were looking on track then the eggs will be absolutely fine in 99% humidity. I prefer a high humidity so that I can open the incubator as the chicks hatch.

If the air cells don't get big enough during the first stage of incubation then there isn't enough oxygen in the air cell to sustain the chick until it makes an external pip. Chicks cannot drown (it's one of those weird myths that seems to persist). Not unless there's too much fluid still in the egg (because they haven't lost enough during the first stage) and you physically tip them up the wrong way once they've pipped internally.

Hope that all makes sense.

 

[Majak5]

Thank you, I’m just really worried, I was hoping to see at least a little rocking or cheeping, but there is none and my last batch that had the wacky temp and humidity hatched on the 19th morning. So I was expecting today

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

You don’t say which quail you are hatching. Different ones have different incubation periods. Could that be the difference?
Hatching times:
Coturnix Quail: 16-18 days
Button Quail: 16 days
Bobwhite Quail: 22-23 days
Gambel's Quail: 22 days
Mountain Quail: 24-25 days
California Quail: 22-23 days
Blue Scale Quail: 23 days
Montezuma Quail: 24-25 days

Hope you have some action soon with your eggs

 

[Maree Hayley]

This is my first time with quails and my hen has 7 so far but how much will she have.... Is it normal for them to have there eggs all over the cage floor.